Possibilities and challenges of print investigative journalism in the digital age
Conference Paper

Overview

abstract

This paper examines key print newspapers’ adaptation to change in order to continue to produce investigative journalism in Australia. It compares traditional media’s historic offerings of investigative journalism with new possibilities and challenges for producing investigative journalism in the digital era. The research uses three independent content analyses to compare the capabilities of Australia’s traditional press and nascent digital media for producing investigative journalism. Building upon a body of literature focused on the relationship between the public sphere, liberal democracy and mass media this paper finds that, despite perceptions to the contrary, Australia’s newspapers are adapting to continue to produce quality investigative journalism. These adaptations occur in the context of print media’s falling revenues to support this reporting genre. The adaptations take advantage of new opportunities for producing investigative journalism. At the same time the altered economic environment also engenders fresh challenges for print media journalism. This article assesses the challenges and opportunities that legacy and new media face producing quality investigative journalism.